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First Deck Cleaning

When we were looking to buy this house one of the things we loved was the deck. It was beautifully made (Ipe wood) with a deep reddish coloring. What I didn’t think about was the cleaning. Ugh. I had no idea where to start, so in June I went to Home Depot, because surely they must know something about decks, and bought some deck cleaner. It failed miserably; even with scrubbing which the bottle touted wasn’t needed. Well, come to find out, Ipe is a hardwood and needs a special cleaner and a special sealer. Duh. If only I had done a bit more research it would have saved me some time. Time yes, but my body would still be one giant ache.

For four days now I have been scouring the deck with a stiff bristled brush and feel more sore than lifting 100+ lug boxes filled with 40 lb of pears (yes, this actually happened). This feeling, however, might be closer to the time I had to fill all aforementioned boxes from two bins of fruit. But I digress. The deck looks wonderful now and all that’s left is the staining. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson: No matter what, make sure you clean the deck twice a year, if possible, because the pain of scrubbing that hard is not something I’d like to revisit anytime soon.

And now, I’m going to lounge on the sofa and read my book until the baby wakes up.

Clean Deck. It’s not perfect, but it’s worlds from where it started.

Wet deck. this is what it will look like once the sealer and stain gets put on.